Cathodic protection systems, new applications and economic analyse

The discovery and use of metals at the end of the Stone Age was one of the most important steps in the development of modern technology. Most base metals are, unfortunately, not stable. In unfavorable environments they can be destroyed at variable rates by corrosion. The study of such corrosion reactions and the methods by which corrosion of metals can be fought is a task of great economic significance. The processes of cathodic protection can be scientifically explained far more concisely than many other protective systems. Corrosion of metals in aqueous solutions or in the soil is principally an electrolytic process controlled by an electric tension, i.e., the potential of a metal in an electrolytic solution. According to the laws of electrochemistry, the reaction tendency and the rate of reaction will decrease with reducing potential. Although these relationships have been known for more than a century and although cathodic protection has been practiced in isolated cases for a long time, it required an extended period for its technical application on a wider scale. This may have been because cathodic protection used to appear curious and strange, and the electrical engineering requirements hindered its practical application. The practice of cathodic protection is indeed more complex than its theoretical base. At present cathodic protection is only generally applied for materials in contact with natural waters and soil, but future applications are envisaged for industrial plants and containers. Keywords: Cathodic protection, Anod, measurement